Middle East

Submitted by Editor (not verified) on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 19:18

Welcome to ContractorTaxation.com's free information and resources for international contractors in the Middle East. Remember we offer a quick and free assessment of the Tax and / or Work Permit options available to you. If you have a contract in the Middle East and would like further information on Taxation and Work Permit solutions, click here.

The Middle East is a loose term and the countries that make it up are open to interpretation. For the purposes of the Contractor Management industry we are going to assume that it includes the following: Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordon, Kuwait, Syria, Israel, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt and The UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi being the most well known Emirates).

Given the vast differences between the countries it is difficult to provide a generic overview, suffice to say: that the region has always been a popular one for International Contractors and has become even more so in recent years with the rise of such powerhouses as Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

There are numerous contract positions available in the region for international contractors in the; Energy, IT, Telecoms, Banking and Finance, Construction and Manufacturing Industries. Couple this with rising standards of living, year round sunshine, an exciting and stimulating expat lifestyle and generally very low (in some cases such as Dubai zero) personal income tax rates and you can see why there is an ever increasing desire for expat contractors to move to the Middle East.

Taxation and Work Permit regulations for contractors in the Middle East are idiosyncratic to each individual country: in the UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai) and Saudi Arabia (you will pay Zakats) contractors will pay 0% personal income tax whereas in Jordon you will pay significantly more and as such you will need to utilise the services of an organisation that has expertise in each of the countries of the Middle East.